Zackary Drucker

Zackary Drucker (born 1983) is an American multimedia artist, cultural producer, LGBT activist, actress, and television producer. She is an Emmy-nominated producer for the docu-series This Is Me, a consultant on the TV series Transparent, and is based out of Los Angeles. Drucker is an artist whose work explores themes of gender and sexuality and critiques predominant two-dimensional representations. Drucker has stated that she considers discovering, telling, and preserving trans history to be not only an artistic opportunity but a political responsibility. Drucker's work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and film festivals including but not limited to the 2014 Whitney Biennial, MoMA PS1, Hammer Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Hammer Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Early life and education Zackary Drucker was born in 1983 and raised in Syracuse, New York by what she calls "two really fantastic, progressive, educated parents." Her paternal grandfather, Eugene Drucker, was an aeronautical engineering professor at Syracuse University who consulted on the Apollo space program. Drucker did not have role models growing up, but her parents were progressive and supported her gender nonconformity.

She received a B.F.A. degree in 2005, from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City; and a M.F.A. degree in 2007, from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Santa Clarita, California.

Her work challenges the way the audience perceives gender, and sexuality. In 2006, Drucker made her first television appearance as a contestant on Jeffrey Deitch's Artstar. After graduating from CalArts in 2007, Drucker decided to stay in Los Angeles. Photographs from her 2007 graduate thesis show, "5 East 73rd Street", feature photographs of mentor Flawless Sabrina. That same year, her work was included in a group exhibition called "Girly Show: Pin-ups, Zines & the So-Called Third Wave" at the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga.

Personal life When Drucker met Rhys Ernst, Drucker had recently graduated from the School of Visual Arts and was on the TV show "Artstar". Drucker had never dated a man before and Ernst had never dated a woman. In 2014, Drucker and Ernst had a show at the Whitney Museum of American Art which captured them in day-to-day relatable scenarios like celebrating anniversaries, staying in, or relaxing by the pool. The former couple published the photographs of them together, which the New York Times stated was an important public record for transgender life. Although the couple is no longer together, Drucker and Ernst want to show that transgender people can live ordinary lives, filled with love.

Career In 2011, Drucker and photographer Amos Mac collaborated on a series take in Drucker's hometown of Syracuse, titled "Home is Where the Heart is, Distance is Where You Hang Your Heart." This series was also published in "TransLady Fanzine".

Drucker and collaborator Rhys Ernst were included in the first iteration of the Hammer/LAX Art biennial. There they premiered the film "She Gone Rogue" and the film was also included in Outfest 2013. "She Gone Rogue" includes several of Drucker's mentors including Holly Woodlawn, Vaginal Davis, and Flawless Sabrina.

In 2014, Drucker and Ernst exhibited "Relationship", at the Whitney Biennial. This series of photos chronicled one couple's relationship and gender transitions. The photographic series was later exhibited at Luis De Jesus Gallery, where Drucker is represented. In 2016, "Relationship" was released as a book.

Since 2013, Drucker had worked as a consultant and producer on Amazon's original series Transparent. Media scholar Nicole Morse argues that Drucker's use of double casting in Transparent brings to light transfeminine history from the 1930s to 1994. For this role, Drucker was also involved with writing, hiring, casting, producing, providing notes on script, offering feedback, and postproduction.

In 2015, Drucker joined the cast of the E! docu-series, I Am Cait

In 2017, Drucker collaborated with the ACLU, Laverne Cox, Molly Crabapple, and Kim Boekbinder, for a video entitled history and "Time Marches Forward & So Do We".

In 2021, Drucker directed and executive produced alongside Nick Cammilleri, The Lady and the Dale, a HBO documentary series profiling Liz Carmichael, a trans woman who had perpetuated an ambitious con involving a 3-wheeled car.

Drucker continues her art practice and works on independent film and photography projects. Drucker focuses work on obscure aspects of the history of transgender people.

Exhibitions, film festivals, performances 2007- "Girly Show: Pin-ups, Zines & the So-Called Third Wave", Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art at Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, California 2011 - 54th Venice Biennale, Swiss Off-Site Pavilion, Venice, Italy 2012 - "At least you know: you exist", short film, Hammer Museum, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 2012 - "Female Trouble" curated by Dirty Looks NYC, "Fish" video (2008), Human Resources LA 2012 - "Zackary Drucker: At Least You Know You Exist" July 7 - September 10, 2012 MoMA PS1, New York 2019 - "School for Endurance Work," Cal State LA Fine Arts Gallery 2020 - "Rosalyne" (photographs), presented at Orlando, McEvoy Foundation, San Francisco, California 2020 - "Icons" (photographs), presented at Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

Filmography

Film and video art

Television

Performance